QB) Baker Mayfield
Oklahoma Sooners (Senior)
Passing
| COMP | ATT | PCT | YDS | YDS/A | LONG | TD | INT | QBR | RAT |
| 262 | 369 | 71.0 | 4340 | 11.8 | 93.1 | 41 | 5 | 93.1 | 170.0 |
Rushing
| ATT | YDS | YDS/A | LONG | TD |
| 85 | 310 | 3.6 | 54 | 5 |
2017 Game Log
QB) Lamar Jackson
Louisville Cardinals (Junior)
Passing
| COMP | ATT | PCT | YDS | YDS/A | LONG | TD | INT | QBR | RAT |
| 241 | 399 | 60.4 | 3489 | 8.7 | 78 | 25 | 6 | 85.9 | 151.5 |
Rushing
| ATT | YDS | YDS/A | LONG | TD |
| 208 | 1443 | 6.9 | 68 | 17 |
2017 Game Log
RB) Bryce Love
Stanford Cardinal (Junior)
Rushing
| ATT | YDS | YDS/A | LONG | TD |
| 237 | 1973 | 8.3 | 75 | 17 |
2017 Game Log
Prediction:
I wrote midseason that this was Baker Mayfield’s trophy to lose. I can report that nothing has changed in the latter half of the season, as Mayfield’s play down the stretch has solidified him as the clear Heisman frontrunner. Baker currently ranks second in the country in both passing yards (4,340) and passing touchdowns (41), and has thrown only 5 interceptions all season. He is also leading the nation in the passer rating and QBR. When you mix in the fact that he is the best player and driving force behind the number two team in the country, you have a winning formula.
Like Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson will be returning to New York as a finalist again this season. Jackson beat out Mayfield (and Deshuan Watson, Jabrill Peppers, Dede Westbrook) to take home the award last year. But this year the roles will reverse. That is not to say Jackson hasn’t had a spectacular season of his own. 2017 marks Jackson’s second consecutive season with over 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards. He amassed 25 touchdowns through the air, and another 17 on the ground. Jackson also put together the second best QBR in the country; second only to none other than Baker Mayfield. Despite the Louisville quarterbacks best efforts, he will not be repeating as the Heisman trophy winner.
The only finalist who is not a quarter back is Stanford running back Bryce Love. Love rushed for 1,973 yards; good for second in the nation and first among all power five conference running backs. Despite playing much of season with an ankle injury, Love managed to rush for over 100 yards in every game this season but one (his first game back from injury against Washington State). As remarkable as these numbers are, they will not be enough to unseat Baker Mayfield as the Heisman favorite. Love plays in system where a number of running backs have put up big numbers historically (ie: Christian McCaffrey, Toby Gerhart etc.), and in a conference noted for a lack of defense. When all is said and done, both his team’s play and his individual numbers are simply not as impressive as Mayfield’s.
